Now collected in hardcover, just in time for the feature-film adaptation, KICK-ASS is an adult-oriented comic that lives up to both its title and its hype. In terms of WTF moments and outrageous humor, Mark Millar out-WANTEDs WANTED with this superhero spoof.
The premise is that socially invisible teen Dave Lizewski wonders why no one in real life has ever dressed up to become a superhero like those in his beloved comic books. Out of sheer boredom, he orders a wetsuit on eBay and transforms himself into the do-gooder eventually known as Kick-Ass.
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A few years after DC Comics invited indie cartoonists to poke fun at its stable of superheroes in BIZARRO COMICS and its sequel, BIZARRO WORLD, Marvel gets into the act with the brilliantly subversive STRANGE TALES. The result is a sure bet for the year’s most fun comics collection.
Paul Pope’s Inhumans adventure is continually interrupted by big dog Lockjaw’s desire to be fed. In a purposely overly cute style à la Hello Kitty, Junko Minzuno imagines Spider-Man depressed while living in an all-spider town, because his powers are no longer special. Dash Shaw’s psychedelic “Dr. Strange vs. Nightmare” pits the sorcerer against perhaps his greatest foe yet: the overwheming desire to yawn.
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While technically an anthology of LOVE AND ROCKETS stories, Gilbert Hernandez’s HIGH SOFT LISP actually adds up to a well-shaped whole, if a bit gelatinous at the seams.
Its primary subject is the smart, sexy Rosalba Martinez, better known as “Fritz,” because her father thought she looked like the cartoon character in Nancy. Fritz is many things: a student, a slut, a psychiatrist, an actress and a wife several times over. The one ex-husband who never got over her, one-time motivational speaker extraordinaire Mark Herrera, describes her in part by features from which the title has been derived.
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Since setting up shot across the pond almost 10 years ago, the energetic, London-based Com.X group have been producing fine quality comics in a mostly traditional format. But Andi Ewington’s FORTY-FIVE breaks new ground for this young publishing house, and it has all the makings of a watershed work.
Journalist James Stanley is about to become a father. He and his wife have decided not to take the test that would determine if their baby is carrying the “Super-S” gene that would give their offspring one or more superpowers. So to prepare for parenthood, Stanley conducts interviews in England, America and other parts of the world with a variety of genetically born superheroes; the 2nd Degree heroes, who came upon their powers by other means; and various family members, friends and associates.
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